Mistakes Caused by Panic
by Kimblee Whitehead
Summary: Everyone hasseen Sadie at her best, but only Lars has seen her at her worst.


Sadie had taken up another job. On top of working at the donut store, she now worked the graveyard shift at a supermarket...in the next city over. Literally. It was a forty minute drive.

Lars couldn't help but think she was insane.

Yet nothing seemed to change. Every morning she'd come into work, bright eyes, large smile, ready to get down to business. She was unhuman like that.

But that day was different. She had come into work. She still smiled...but he couldn't ignore the bags under her eyes. She clearly hadn't slept much. To her credit, she fully admitted it. She got three hours of sleep.

"But I'll be okay."

She was inhuman like that. And thus, she continued on with work like it was no big deal. But as much as she tried, Lars couldn't help but notice that she was slower then usual. She seemed to space out at times, and her coffee intake was massive.

She would space out, and ruin an order. A costumer would ask for a chocolate donut...she'd give them a maple. A costumer would request no sprinkles...she gave them one with extra. She realized she was making mistakes. And she kept making them. Her mistakes were no longer caused by her being tired...they were caused by her fear of making another mistake. Her panic would literally drive her to screw up.

Unfortunately, Lars wasn't the only one who realized this. Their boss had picked up on Sadie's unusual work ethic...and boy, did he let her know about it. Normally he was yelling at him...not Sadie. Yet somehow, she still managed to smile. It was a weak smile, but it was a smile.

Finally, her shift ended. She was very quick to leave the building. She didn't say goodbye to Lars. She just got her stuff, and ran out the door.

His shift ended a half hour later. It had been a long day, and he was ready to unwind a little bit. Play some video games, watch a movie, enjoy his life.

But he noticed Sadie's car was still in the parking lot. That wasn't a good sign. Was she still here?

He approached the car, and gasped. He literally gasped. What he saw in that car was the worst thing in the world.

Sadie, in the drivers seat, crying.

He had never seen Sadie cry before. He had never even seen her remotely sad. He didn't think it was even possible for her to feel sorrow.

Yet there she was, blotchy red face, runny nose...it was a horrifying sight. He really didn't know what to do about it. This wasn't exactly his area of expertise. He wanted to just walk away...but he couldn't. It was _Sadie. _

He lightly tapped on the window, and her face shot up to him. Her glassy eyes stared at him, a look of embarrassment crossed her face. He gave her a small smile, and a wave.

"Hey," he said, dumbly. He mentally kicked himself. Not the best way to start a conversation in this situation, "Do you, uh, need anything?" he asked.

She simply stared at him, as she wiped her nose. An awful moment of awkward silence passed between them. Lars wondered if he should just leave...he had a feeling he wasn't helping the situation at all.

But then the car doors burst open. Sadie busted out of the car and hugged him. She hugged him as tight as she could. She buried her face into his shirt, and her fingers dug into his shirt.

She clutched him as if her life depended on it. But in a way, maybe it did. For in that moment, she had nothing more to hang on to.

Lars stood their dumbly. He had never been in a situation like this...and it was awful. He hated this.

But he wrapped his arms around her. Because it was Sadie.

Everyone had seen Sadie smile, but only he had ever seen her cry. He only hoped no one else would ever have to.

* * *

_I had a really rough night. This is a dumb drabble, written in an attempt to vent. And it worked. So...here is this. Hopefully you enjoyed._

_Also, to those of you who are reading Control & Chaos, and Gem Noir, I'll try and have those updated by the weekend. It's been an insanely busy week, and it's not going to slow down until after Saturday. But then I have all the time in the world to write._

_Anyways, thanks for reading this thing. I appreciate it._


End file.
